# Timothy F. Geithner, Part Duex **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113 "2009-01-26T20:08:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/21 "2009-01-27T04:58:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Workers Comp? Several 100K in taxes for a single year?!:dubious: Who earns a megabuck a year in Workers comp? :dubious: Sorry, that’s impossible. Oh, he only received three grand. Just, they have to make an example of him. 😃 Disclaimer: Joke post. Category: gallows humor ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/22 "2009-01-27T05:06:03Z")
Sounds to me like a believably innocent mistake. But, on the other hand, there must be some other candidate for the position out there, somewhere, who has not made and then mishandled such a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/23 "2009-01-27T05:08:56Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Geithner is an ordinary tax cheat who deliberately cheated, deliberately refused to pay back taxes when his cheating was discovered because the statute of limitations made back payment unenforceable, and refused in front of the senate to answer a direct question about why he had so behaved. > > He is the worst–the absolute worst–type of personality to lead. It is precisely this personality (the law does not apply to me, and I will do whatever I can get by with even if what I get by with is cheating) that is responsible for the economic crisis. > > I am surprised Mr Obama did not rescind his nomination. > > I am a taxpayer. He stole from me. I do not want him in charge of the IRS. Did you bother to read the thread at all? ---
**Author:** ![Aquila\_Be](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@Aquila\_Be](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquila_Be)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/24 "2009-01-27T12:13:10Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Did you bother to read the thread at all? I doubt that you did. I noticed that one of the Senators who voted against confirmation was John McCain. No ‘reaching across the aisle’ for Geithner. Maybe that will qualify McCain for a pitting by **Captain C**. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/25 "2009-01-27T12:54:08Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > But…I really don’t see why this is relevant. Well, it isn’t. Typically, a single statement lifted from an argument formulated over the course of several statements is not itself relevant. Same same until the end of your parsing. > [@](#): > > This is the stuff that is relevant—the question of whether his payment shortfall was intentional, or an accidental result of a complicated system. I happen to believe that this was, in fact, the case, both for him and for you. What his income is, and what your income was, are irrelevant to me. It was all relevant. It’s just that this was the conclusion of the premises and inferences that preceded it. He and I both took the advice of tax experts, and paid what we were advised. In the case of Geithner, I think it’s easy to confuse an expert in finance with an expert in accounting. Geithner is not an accountant; he’s a finance guy. In a normal corporation, he would be the CFO and the head of accounting would answer to him. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/26 "2009-01-27T13:22:38Z")
I don’t know whether Geithner is guilty of anything or not, but what I want to know is why ram through a flawed candidate? Is he The Only Person In America Who Can Fix The Economy? Probably not, so I’d say they should bounce his weasel ass and nominate somebody who’s clean, and I’m a staunch Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/27 "2009-01-27T14:10:32Z")
What flaw? You can’t just make up shit and call it a flaw. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/28 "2009-01-27T14:31:55Z")
Yeah, like I just made up a bunch of shit about him not paying his taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/29 "2009-01-27T14:33:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Workers Comp? Several 100K in taxes for a single year?!:dubious: Who earns a megabuck a year in Workers comp? :dubious: Sorry, that’s impossible. Nobody. For one thing, at any rate, the amount of indemnity benefits is limited to a statutory maximum regardless of the pre-injury income. However, the fact that he failed to disclose his indemnity benefits to the IRS affects his credibility in court something fierce- enough to cost him maybe half of his case’s settlement value. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/30 "2009-01-27T14:36:56Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Yeah, like I just made up a bunch of shit about him not paying his taxes. Yes, if you said that, then you made it up. He DID pay his goddam taxes. He paid a SMALL PORTION of them late — like millions of people do all the fucking time — but he PAID them, including some he no longer owed. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/31 "2009-01-27T14:56:20Z")
Yeah, whatever, he paid them after he got pinged for it. A real shining beacon of propriety. My question is whether this guy with questionable taxpaying credentials is OMFG THE ONLY GUY IN THE WHOLE EFFING COUNTRY QUALIFIED TO BE SECRETARY OF TREASURY or not. My guess is not, plus he’s not exactly going to be hitting the ground running if he’s spending time defending himself against these not-entirely-unfounded accusations. We can and should do better. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/32 "2009-01-27T14:58:19Z")
I’ve got to agree with **AA** here. While I don’t believe that a tax snafu should necessarily disqualify this dude, I do feel that it would be much better in terms of public confidence/trust to just go find somebody else. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/33 "2009-01-27T15:04:32Z")
That’s what I mean. As far as the tax thing goes, it’s no big deal for 99.999 percent of the population, but for the S.O.T., it is, and at a time when confidence is very shaky, it just doesn’t seem like the best move, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/34 "2009-01-27T15:16:06Z")
There are no letters in today’s Washington Post from other World Bank people challenging the facts as presented in the letter yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/35 "2009-01-27T15:52:03Z")
Alabamas’ Senator Sessions described every single Bush appointee as uniquely qualified to whatever position the Shrub put him up for. Perhaps the only one in the world that could do the job. It was wrong. There are a lot of people who can handle the job. But is will be hard to find a guy who has been involved in high finance that hasn’t broken the rules. I understand that rules are for little people. Old Playboy cartoon. A tax man checking a clients rejected tax form. He says you have been taking deductions as if you are a somebody. Your taxes have been rejected because you are a nobody. I thing Geithner should be replaced. I am sick of rich people who think they are entitled to special breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/36 "2009-01-27T16:17:25Z")
He got no special break. He got no break at all. Goddamn, you’re stupid. ETA: It’s not a “break” when you’re found to have done nothing wrong and are assessed no penalty. It’s like saying you got a break because you got no ticket when you never ran a stop sign. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/37 "2009-01-27T16:42:58Z")
> [@Aquila\_Be](#): > > I doubt that you did. Actually, I did, which is why I said that. What **Chief Pedant** said had already been refuted in the thread. > [@Aquila Be](#): > > I noticed that one of the Senators who voted against confirmation was John McCain. No ‘reaching across the aisle’ for Geithner. Maybe that will qualify McCain for a pitting by **Captain C**. I don’t particularly care what McCain does, for the most part. Why should I? ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/38 "2009-01-27T18:39:23Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > That’s what I mean. As far as the tax thing goes, it’s no big deal for 99.999 percent of the population, but for the S.O.T., it is, and at a time when confidence is very shaky, it just doesn’t seem like the best move, that’s all. What if he’s the cleanest, most-qualified guy they could find? ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/39 "2009-01-27T18:47:58Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > He got no special break. He got no break at all. He’ll have gotten a break if he’s appointed SOT of the US of f’ing A after being delinquent on his taxes. Not that Obama really cares. He didn’t bother paying his parking tickets for 17 years. What’s only a couple years for taxes? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113/40 "2009-01-27T18:51:31Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > He got no special break. He got no break at all. Goddamn, you’re stupid. > > ETA: > > It’s not a “break” when you’re found to have done nothing wrong and are assessed no penalty. It’s like saying you got a break because you got no ticket when you never ran a stop sign. He paid the taxes only after he found out that would be a problem for approval. He was not motivated by the justice or doing the right thing. The IRS broomed thousands of employees a few years ago for the slightest tax problem. they were concerned about how it appeared. Appearances do matter. Did I forget to insult you or call you names. Sorry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timothy-f-geithner-part-duex/483113.md?page=3)